Biomimetic hydrogel-CNT network induced enhancement of fluid-structure interactions for ultrasensitive nanosensors
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Author(s)
Bora, Meghali
Kottapalli, Ajay Giri Prakash
Miao, Jianmin
Triantafyllou, Michael S
Date Issued
October 2017
Journal
NPG Asia Materials
Publisher
Springer Nature America, Inc
Citation
Bora, Meghali, Ajay Giri Prakash Kottapalli, Jianmin Miao, and Michael S Triantafyllou. “Biomimetic Hydrogel-CNT Network Induced Enhancement of Fluid-Structure Interactions for Ultrasensitive Nanosensors.” NPG Asia Materials 9, no. 10 (October 27, 2017): e440.
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Final published version
Abstract
Flexible, self-powered, miniaturized, ultrasensitive flow sensors are in high demand for human motion detection, myoelectric prosthesis, biomedical robots, and health-monitoring devices. This paper reports a biomimetic nanoelectromechanical system (NEMS) flow sensor featuring a PVDF nanofiber sensing membrane with a hydrogel infused, vertically aligned carbon nanotube (VACNT) bundle that mechanically interacts with the flow. The hydrogel-VACNT structure mimics the cupula structure in
biological flow sensors and gives the NEMS flow sensor ultrahigh sensitivity via a material-induced drag force enhancement mechanism. Through hydrodynamic experimental flow characterization, this work investigates the contributions of the mechanical and structural properties of the hydrogel in offering a sensing performance superior to that of conventional sensors. The ultrahigh sensitivity of the developed sensor enabled the detection of minute flows generated during human motion and micro-droplet propagation. The novel fabrication strategies and combination of materials used in the biomimetic NEMS sensor fabrication may guide the development of several wearable, flexible, and self-powered nanosensors in the future.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering
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Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license
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DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1038/AM.2017.183
